“This award is very exciting for me, mostly because of the high standards that must be met to qualify and the focus on client retention and regulatory compliance, which are both things I take seriously and am proud to be recognized for. I am humbled to be honored and will continue to set goals that ensure my team and I stay on the top of lists like this,” says Christopher. “A huge thank-you to our clients! We have clients that have been with us since the firm started 14 years ago and continue to be like family to us. We understand that we depend on them as much as they depend on us. Their success is our success. We realize the trust our clients put in us every day and we do not take that lightly. Seeing our clients reach their goals and walking them through the ups and downs of the markets and their financial plans is extremely satisfying, and we cannot thank them enough for their loyalty.”

Five Star Professional partnered with Gulfshore Life to identify and showcase an exclusive group of wealth managers who have demonstrated excellence in their field.

“I started Ragain Financial Wealth Management in 2002 and still serve as president and owner. At RF Wealth Management, we take great pride in providing our clients with world-class service. Meeting the individual needs of our clients is our chief concern; we offer portfolio management services that are personalized to each individual. We have a strong focus on communication, transparency and solid returns. Communication is a pillar of what we do. We do not want to be a firm with cookie cutter portfolios and communications where clients feel like they are just a number on a list,” Christopher says. “We take the extra time to personalize communications to each client so they know how our decisions affect their goals specifically. We want them to feel like a member of the family is managing their wealth; that is the kind of trust we are seeking. And it’s working. We are proud of our success and have grown over 200 percent in the last 5 years.”

The 2016 Five Star Wealth Manager award winners have been carefully selected for their commitment to providing quality services to their clients. The award is based on an in-depth research process incorporating peer and firm feedback with objective criteria such as client retention rates, client assets administered, industry experience, and regulatory and complaint history.

“It is a privilege to present exceptional wealth managers with the Five Star award each year. These select wealth managers have worked hard to get where they are with a deep knowledge of their industry and care for their clients,” states Lynn Hargreaves, VP, Research and Services Operations, Five Star Professional.

The Five Star Wealth Manager award, administered by Crescendo Business Services, LLC (dba Five Star Professional), is based on 10 objective criteria: 1. Credentialed as a registered investment adviser or a registered investment adviser representative; 2. Active as a credentialed professional in the financial services industry for a minimum of five years; 3. Favorable regulatory and complaint history review (unfavorable feedback may have been discovered through a check of complaints registered with a regulatory authority or complaints registered through Five Star Professional’s consumer complaint process*); 4. Fulfilled their firm review based on internal standards; 5. Accepting new clients; 6. One-year client retention rate; 7. Five-year client retention rate; 8. Non-institutional discretionary and/or non-discretionary client assets administered; 9. Number of client households served; 10. Education and professional designations.

Wealth managers do not pay a fee to be considered or awarded. Once awarded, wealth managers may purchase additional profile ad space or promotional products. The award methodology does not evaluate the quality of services provided and is not indicative of the winner’s future performance. 426 Gulfshore wealth managers were considered for the award; 128 (31 percent of candidates) were named Five Star Wealth Managers.

*To qualify as having a favorable regulatory and complaint history, the person cannot have: 1. been subject to a regulatory action that resulted in a suspended or revoked license, or payment of a fine, 2. had more than three customer complaints filed against them (settled or pending) with any regulatory authority or Five Star Professional’s consumer complaint process, 3. individually contributed to a financial settlement of a customer complaint filed with a regulatory authority, 4. filed for bankruptcy, or 5. been convicted of a felony.